Day Off
by mariteri
Summary: Hermione Granger's day off gets interrupted by a police stakeout-And one Detective Robert "Bobby" Goren. Rated T just to cover my bases.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Law and Order: Criminal Intent, nor any of the characters therein. And, sadly, I do not make any moneys from the posting of this fanfiction.**

 **Hello! I have another one shot here. Enjoy!**

 **Please read and review!**

 **…**

 **Day Off**

Hermione was reading her book quietly in the corner of the café when the man had approached her. Tall at a little over six feet, four inches tall, his hair managed to look just as rumpled and messy as the rest of him. It was her day off of work and she had wanted to find some quiet. After three phone calls and several texts, she put away the mobile that everyone and their mother seemed to have the number of and pocketed the one only her close friends and family knew how to contact her on.

And so there she was reading in the corner, the only place within the entire establishment that could see nearly every inch of the front of the house. The only places that couldn't be seen were the back exit and bathrooms. But as the door to the hallway was right next to her, she arranged a compact mirror on her small table to be able to see that as well.

"Excuse me, but I was wondering if I could sit in your spot?"

"Hmm, whatever for?" she asked, as she put a bookmark into her book. Looking up into his blue eyes, she said, "What could be so interesting about five college students cramming for a biology test at NYU, two business men speaking about their last AA meeting, a couple meeting here to talk about their illicit affair, and three painfully inexperienced baristas that would require you to take my spot?"

Standing up straight, he looked over the café. True enough, everything she had just mentioned was as she had said. Looking back over to her, he found her reading again.

"I'm a police officer," he told her. "Detective Bobby Goren from Major Crimes."

"Lovely to meet you, Detective," she murmured. "And you still haven't answered my question."

"I'm expecting our suspect to be coming in with his accomplice any time now," he told her.

"Hmm, really? And do they know that you will be here?" she asked him. "Or that the front will be watched by the police?"

"I suppose they might," he admitted. "At least one of them will be coming in that way."

"That goes without saying," she answered. "And do either of your suspects know you by sight?"

"One of them does," he replied.

"Sit down, for heaven sake, Robert," she told him, just as a person came in the front of the café. She moved so that she was now sitting across from him. In a lower tone of voice, she murmured, "You might want to keep an eye on the back with the compact." She absently indicated her mirror when she picked up her coffee mug.

"No one calls me Robert," he muttered.

"Which means that your suspects may have some inkling of that as one of them heard you being called Bobby," she pointed out to him. "Are you going to be ordering coffee?"

"That was the plan," he said.

"Then I recommend getting a French press pot," she told him. "I don't know how they managed to do it, but they absolutely made tar out of perfectly good coffee beans."

"Why are you so paranoid?" he asked her.

"I'm watchful, as well as paranoid," she said. "The combination just makes it appear that I'm worse than advertised." She noticed the back door opening. "Someone is coming from the back."

She opened the book and went over to sit next to him, pointing to a random factoid in the book. "See? I didn't know about that. Why is it that they said it wasn't so?"

"False alarm," he muttered. "It was one of the barista's boyfriends."

She looked up, looking at the interaction for a moment. "Not so much a boyfriend, but rather a sexual hook up."

"How can you tell?" he asked.

"The newcomer hasn't shown any of the indicators of emotional attachment," she said. "Nor is he being considerate of her time. Walked in, wants to have sex, and to take off. He's paying more attention to her breasts and his watch than he is of her need to be doing her job. That's a booty call, not love everlasting."

"Are you a police officer?" he asked her.

"No." She pulled her book back over to herself, saying, "I'm just an obnoxious know it all that is trying to enjoy her day off from teaching math to Marines." She pulled out her earbuds along with her MP3 player. "Now if you'll please excuse me, I want to relax." Looking over to him for a moment, she asked him, "Would you care to listen to the Feynman lectures? She looked at the earbuds, correcting herself with, "At least the left earbud?"

Smiling he said, "No, thank you."

Nodding to that, she put both of the earbuds in and turned on the lecture. She was completely entrenched into the lectures, as she was working on a Sudoku. Absently Bobby looked over at what she was working on and blinked in confusion. She was using a kind a numbering system he was unfamiliar with.

He reached over and tugged the earbud out of her ear. "What kind of numbers are you using?"

She paused her recording, saying, "I'm using numeric runes."

"What country?" he breathed.

"Wales," she answered, looking over to him. "Three different people have come into the café in the last five minutes. One of the two women is currently glaring at you. I presume that's your partner?" His eyes flicked up to the woman.

"Yes, it is," he answered with a grin. "And two other officers."

"Goes without saying," she replied, as she answered and placed another several runes into place on the paper. Picking up her coffee, she sipped on it. "You seem to be more involved in studying me than your stakeout." She looked over to him. "And as flattering as that is, you must get back to your work, shouldn't you?"

He nodded. "That I should." His intense blue eyes studied her. "You intrigue me."

She didn't know whether or not to take that as a good thing. Hermione would have said something about this, but his partner seemed to go on the alert when two people came into the café. "I do believe that the people you're scoping out just came into the café."

He flicked a look over, saying, "So they have. If something happens, duck."

"I'm sure to do that," she replied dryly. "Because ducking behind a medium density fiber board table is sure to see to my safety." Smiling she pat his face. "I've been seeing myself through more difficult business than this. Just see to it that you don't get yourself shot trying to outthink them."

He chuckled, as he got up. "Meaning?"

"Ockham's razor," she said casually, pulling back. "As if you didn't know."

Nodding he turned and went off to do his work. Hermione was packing away her things when the guns came out. Absently she put up a wordless, wandless shielding charm. She had gotten up to leave when one of the suspects went running right towards her. Side stepping him, she tripped him and slammed her right arm across his back. This sent him sprawling across the floor along with her coffee that had been in the very hand that had struck him.

Looking over to Bobby, she said, "You owe me a coffee."

Laughing he said, "Yes, ma'am."

A perplexed Alex Eames joined him even as Hermione was stepping over the suspect's feet. Nodding towards Alex, "Good day, detective." Looking over to Bobby, she nodded to him as well. She walked past all of the police officers and right out of the door to the street where she turned to walk towards what must have been the subway.

She left never hearing the conversation in her wake.

"Who was that?" Alex asked her partner.

Smiling, Bobby told her, "My future wife if I have anything to say about it."

 **The End!**

 **…**

 **And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed reading it. Please review to let me know what you thought of the story. Take care and have yourselves a victorious day.**


End file.
